Southwell lanterns to light up the dusk and herald start of festivities

Southwell’s upcoming Lantern Walk on Saturday, December 4, is set to light up the town.

This year’s theme of Christmas Critters will see bumble bees, dragonflies, butterflies, ladybirds parade along the pathways.

The theme is also a tribute to current climate concerns and COP26, hosted recently in the Glasgow.

A lantern-making workshop hosted last weekend saw the creation of 30 willow lanterns by about 40 talented crafters of all ages.

Southwell Town Council’s events and tourism co-ordinator Honor Dunkley said: “Some people had been to our workshops before and were coming back because they enjoyed it so much.

“This year, we were very grateful to three local volunteers who kindly gave up their Saturday to help at the workshops and two of our town councillors very kindly helped too.”

The lantern-making involved bending strips of willow to make a three-dimensional frame and then covering the frame with extra-strength wet tissue paper. They are then illuminated with fairy lights ready for the walk.

Honor said: “ Everyone had a lot of fun seeing their creations come to life.

“This is the 15th lantern walk in Southwell and it has always been a very popular community event. Even through the difficult times of last year we carried on making lanterns and people displayed the lanterns in their windows.

“So we’re looking forward to seeing lots of people joining us the walk ­— bring your own lantern or torch, wrap up warm and wear suitable footwear.”

The lantern walk is a one-mile walk on pavements, suitable for pushchairs, and the route leads participants from Southwell Minster grounds to the War Memorial Park, past the Minster School and back to Bishops Drive.

The route will be decorated with festive lights and a Christmas tree.